Wichita eagle., 1887-12-04
ghe aalieta 1u Eagle Sunday gormno aeeember 1887
WORTH A MINT.
10 BETTER In THE WIDE WoRLl.
Wichita's New Water Supply Source
and the Health of
the City.

The healthfulness of Wichita, her i'm
munity from disease of every character
has been a subject of remark and comment
for years. The per cent. of mortality for
the past four years has been less than that
of any city of which any record can be
found. Last year it was less than eight to
the thousand; this year but fraction
more. Some have attributed our wonder
full health to our altitude, the city being
upwards Of thirteen hundred feet above
sea level, at which elevation fogs do not
exist and rains are followed by bright,
open sunshine and bracing breeZes. Others
TO the waters afforded by the valley, our
wells being all supplied by a common
source. deep underfiow of waters from
the Rocky mountains through unfathomed
depths of clean gravel and sand Whether
either of these, or all of them combined,
the fact remains that Wichita is one of the
healthiest cities on the continent.
The new water works are now and have
been for several days past, supplying the
city from their new source. OF this new
source we wish to say word AS before
mentioned the company have located their
new works on an island in the Great
city 1t was the first intention to take the
water from the river and filter and purify
them by well known process now employed
by many cities. To this end immense
purifiers and filterers were put in during
the early summer. But the apparently in
eXhaustible supplies of pure water drawn
from the gravel beds beneath the valley
through driven pipes, by several mills anu
factories located in the city for con
densing purposes, suggested to the com
pany the possibility of drawing
a supply from the same source, if
sufficient volume to supply the whole city.
Accordingly large pipes, of several inches
capacity each, We're driven in the island,
in nests, and covering quite q large area.
These pipes were connected by suction
mains and conducted to the pumps of the
works In driving these pipes down, at
some distance below the bed of the river 4
strata of stiff tenacious clay was encoun-
tered, through which it was almost impos
sible to force the pipes. But the result
was a flow of water below which is singu-
larly free from minerals of every character
and very soft and pure. The only question
remaining was, would the supply be strong
enough to furnish the machinery. The
works were started, the powerful
suction and force pumps put
to work on a main connecting
only one-fourth of the pipes or drivewells.
TO the establishment and qualification Of
Mr.. d. c. Huffman, the superintendent,
these from the very start furnished a sup
ply equal to the present demands Of the
city. Wichita therefore will be from this
out supplied with water the purity and
wholesomeness of which cannot be ques
toned. If all the sewerage of the city
conld be run up stream and dumped into
the river above the island or into the cur
rents on either or both sides of the island
the city's source would remain untouched
with no chance of contamination. Even
if the river should become impure and
foul the great body of water flowing be
meath the water-tight clay mentioned
would keep our supply perfectly pure and
healthful